Wind Power
- Wind Power Update
- Wind Power
- Here's how you can buy Wind Power - Signup Online!
- Links to Wind Power Sites
- Wind Power Frequently Asked Questions
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Growing at over 25% a year, wind energy is the fastest growing energy source in the world today. Record growth in the U.S. in 2001 added 1,695 MW to an existing 2,566 MW to bring the total installed wind generating capacity to 4,261 MW, enough to supply one million homes. This growth was more than double the previous record of new wind energy installed in a single year, 732 MW in 1999. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) projects that well over 2,000 MW of new wind capacity will be installed in the U.S. in 2003. Wind generating capacity in the U.S. was 10 MW in 1981. Minnesota is the ninth windiest state. Factors that have caused the rapid growth of wind power are 1) falling costs due mostly to larger and more efficient turbines 2) federal and state incentives and 3) a Renewable Energy Objective.
Until recently the Buffalo Ridge has been viewed as the economically viable area in Minnesota to install wind turbines. But with better testing equipment and higher testing heights, good wind resources have been found east of the Ridge in many more parts of southern Minnesota. Aside from having more places to put wind turbines, placing them further east will avoid much of the transmission constraint that has hindered power from being sent from the Ridge east to population areas. Wind developers enXco and Zilkha have taken notice and are studying feasibility of wind farms in south central Minnesota. Going well beyond the planning stage, the industrialist, Garwin McNeilus has installed several 900 kW turbines near Dodge Center and has more on the way. Power from the McNeilus turbines will be sold to Alliant and Xcel.
SMMPA installed two 950 kW wind turbines adjacent to highway 15 about four miles south of Fairmont, MN at a cost of $2.1 million. With the help of a wind consultant, SMMPA studied eight SMMPA member communities to determine feasibility of siting turbines. Fairmont, located near the eastern edge of Buffalo Ridge, was found to have the best wind resource and commensurate lowest cost per kWh.
SMMPA's Wind Power program began in late 2000 when SMMPA contracted with Northern Alternative Energy (NAE) to buy all power from one NEG Micon 900 kW turbine that was to have been sited near Worthington on the Buffalo Ridge. Within a few months of the offering, SMMPA member customers subscribed the entire output of the turbine, 2,016 blocks of 100 kWh/month or 2,419,200 kWh/year. NAE was unable to construct the turbine so SMMPA bought wind power in the amount subscribed from existing turbines and continued to do so until power is generated from its Fairmont, MN turbines. For this, they have proven to be correct with the reduced costs we now love, long term, economic means of supplying wind power to members, the SMMPA Board decided in early October, 2002 that to build and own turbines would be in the best interest of SMMPA members.
For more information, including links to wind power web sites please see our “Links to Wind Power Sites” below
As a Owatonna Public Utilities customer you can buy some of the most environmentally friendly power on the planet--renewable Wind Power.
When you choose to buy Wind Power you are choosing cleaner air and a better environment. Wind-generated power uses no fossil fuels, produces no emissions and leaves no by-product. A kilowatthour of electricity generated by wind is a kilowatthour not generated with fossil fuel and that means air quality is improved.
In Minnesota we have a huge supply of wind. This great resource combined with a sharp drop in cost of wind power generation over the past several years means that wind power makes a lot of sense for the people in Minnesota.
Here's how you can buy Wind Power
Clean, renewable Wind Power is available in “blocks” of 100 kilowatthours (kWh) per month. When you sign up you'll tell Owatonna Public Utilities how many blocks you want and agree to pay for that many blocks each month for as long as you are in the program. Cost to produce wind power has dropped almost 90% over the past 20 years but it still costs a bit more than coal or gas generated electricity. To sign up, click below or just call Owatonna Public Utilities. The charge for your wind power will show up as a separate item on your monthly billing. You may end your wind power purchase any time by just calling Owatonna Public Utilities. It's easy!
When you purchase one block of wind power each month for a year it's like planting 1/2 acre of trees or not driving your car 2400 miles!
American Wind Power Association
http://www.awea.org
NWCC-National Wind Coordinating
Committee
http://www.nationalwind.org/default.htm
Windpower Monthly News Magazine
Home Page
http://www.windpower-monthly.com/index.htm
Minnesotans For An Energy Efficient Economy - wind energy resources
http://www.me3.org/issues/wind
What is WIND POWER?
How big is a typical wind turbine?
How does a wind turbine work?
How much power do these wind turbines produce?
Where are the wind turbines located?
How big is the Fairmont wind farm?
What components comprise the wind farm?
Wind farms have caused the deaths of many eagles, hawks and other birds in other areas of the country. What steps have been taken to reduce the hazard to birds from its wind turbine?
Can you give me a concrete example of how choosing WIND POWER can help the environment?
Do the specific electrons generated in Fairmont, MN come to my house?
How much does 100 kWh of WIND POWER cost?
Why does WIND POWER cost more to generate?
Why would customers sign up to pay for WIND POWER?
How do I sign up for WIND POWER?
A: It is electricity generated from the wind using a wind turbine. WIND POWER has low environmental impact its renewable and produces no emissions or by-products. Wind is abundant, especially in southwestern Minnesota.
Q: How big is a typical wind turbine?
A: For a 950 kW turbine, the 15-foot diameter tubular steel tower measures more than 231 feet from the ground to the central hub and weighs 98 tons. On top of the tower rests the 24 tons nacelle, the main body of the turbine that contains the gearbox and generator. The rotor, made up of the hub and three 87-foot long blades, is 179 feet in diameter and weighs 165 tons.
Q: How does a wind turbine work?
A: Wind blows through the turbine blades and rotates the rotor much like a child's pinwheel. A gearbox inside the nacelle transfers this mechanical power to the generator that converts it to electrical power. As wind direction changes, the machine rotates into the wind on its axis; this is called the "yaw" control. The turbine has a weather station and computer control system that provides real-time information on wind speed and direction. With this information the computer controls the machine so it always captures the maximum amount of energy from the wind. This ongoing monitoring and adjustment is known as "chasing the wind."
Q: How much power do these wind turbines produce?
A: The turbines capacity is 950 kilowatts. That's what is called the "nameplate capacity", which is what can be produced in perfect conditions. On an average annual basis, the turbine will produce about 2,700,000 kWh or enough electricity to power about 375 homes for a year (based on an average usage of 600 kWh per month).
Q: Where are the wind turbines located?
A: Right now, we are buying WIND POWER off turbines located in Fairmont, MN, which is in southeastern Minnesota. Fairmont has a great wind resource. The new turbines feed directly into the distribution system, which avoids the cost and scheduling of using the transmission grid. Minnesota is the ninth windiest state in the contiguous 48 states with WIND POWER potential of 657 billion kWh.
Q: How big is the Fairmont wind farm?
A: A wind turbine, even in the 950 kW size, makes a small "footprint", taking very little land for the tower, but about 100 acres per turbine is required for the wind resource. Generally, five to seven rotor diameters are required for turbine separation, depending on the wind resource. The spacing acreage is needed to prevent power production loss on a turbine that, because of the direction of the wind, is downwind of an adjacent turbine. That is, turbines, especially of the 950 kW size and up, extract significant power from the wind. Any turbine that may be downwind and too close to another will not have the wind resource of an obstructed one.
Q: What components comprise the wind farm?
A: The major components of the wind farm are the turbine-blade-tower units, a substation, and transmission lines. Here's some detail on each: Wind turbines: The basic components of the wind turbines include a tubular steel tower, turbine generator located at the top of the tower, housing for the turbine (called the nacelle), three fiberglass blades and the electronic equipment that monitors and controls the machine. The generator is a 950 kW alternating current (AC) induction generator. It produces power at 600 volts. An underground wiring system carries the power from the machine to the wind farms substation. Substation: The wind farms substation takes the power generated by the wind turbine and transforms it to a higher voltage for the distribution system. The substation also ensures that the wind turbine power is delivered at standard, consistent voltage and frequency levels. Transmission Lines: Where the electricity meets the transmission network it is transformed to an even higher voltage and sent throughout the regional power grid.
A: New turbines are designed with bird safety in mind. All of the following measures work together so there is very little impact on the bird population. Larger machines that generate more power mean that fewer machines are necessary than in the past. The machines blades are larger and designed to spin slowly (15 to 22 rpm), making it easier for birds to see and avoid them. The machines are placed away from edges of bluffs, keeping them out of the flight pattern of migratory birds. The blades are painted with a reflective coating to make them highly visible to birds. Most important, the machines and their towers do not offer birds tempting places to perch. The WIND POWER turbine uses a tubular tower to support the blades and nacelle rather than the older lattice-style tower. Access ladders are placed inside the tower and all power lines connecting the wind machine to the substation are underground. The nacelle top is smooth and does not provide a roosting place. In the past, most bird injuries occurred as birds spotted prey from atop the lattice towers and glided into the path of the rotating blades.
Q: Can you give me a concrete example of how choosing WIND POWER can help the environment?
A: Currently, electricity in Minnesota and the surrounding states is supplied primarily from large coal-burning power plants, natural gas-fueled turbines, and nuclear power. When a wind turbine is added to the interconnected electric transmission system, the need for these other generators diminishes. That is, when a wind turbine is producing power, a fossil fuel burning plant will be scaled back and burn less fossil fuel. Buying 100 kilowatt-hours of wind-generated power each month for a year has the same environmental impact as planting one-half acre of trees, or not driving your car 2,400 miles. Buying 600 kWh each month for a year is like taking one car off the road for a year.
Q: Do the specific electrons generated in Fairmont, MN come to my house?
A: No, electricity naturally flows from the source of generation to the nearest user. This means that customers near Fairmont will probably receive the electrons from the wind turbine. But the impacts of the generation will reach you. Think of the interconnected electric transmission system used to transport electricity as a large pool. This system is often referred to as the "grid". Electric generators put power into the pool at hundreds of locations across the Northern Plains and consumers take power from the pool at their homes and businesses. Generators operate to keep the pool full, but in balance (not overflowing) at all times. That means that when one generator is added, another needs to turn off. Major areas of the grid are carefully monitored to keep from overfilling or under-filling the power pool. When the WIND POWER turbine generates power and pours it into the pool (grid), other generators in Minnesota will be turned down or off to maintain the balance. Most power produced in Minnesota comes from coal-fired plants, which means the power that flows in the regional grid will have a lower proportion of coal and a greater proportion of WIND POWER.
Q: How much does 100 kWh of WIND POWER cost?
A: One block (100 kWh) of wind power cost $1.00 plus tax, which will appear as a separate line item on your bill.
Q: Why does WIND POWER cost more to generate?
A: Even though there are no fuel costs, generating electricity from wind is more expensive than conventional means of generation, like natural gas and coal, primarily because the capital cost of the equipment is higher. This is generally true for most types of renewable energy. Another reason that wind generated electricity currently costs more is that the energy found in wind is not as concentrated as it is in conventional gas and coal-fired processes. This means that more equipment is required to capture the same amount of energy. The cost to produce WIND POWER is declining about 6% per year due to manufacturing improvements, technology improvements, and increased size of the turbines.
Q: Why would customers sign up to pay for WIND POWER?
A: Surveys, focus groups, and our customers are telling us that they want green energy, so we are offering WIND POWER.
Q: How do I sign up for WIND POWER?
A: Call us at (507) 451-2480 or visit our office located at 208 Walnut Ave. S.W. OR
Signup Online Here!!
Revised
May2003
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Owatonna Public Utilities
P.O. Box 800 Owatonna, MN 55060-0800 |
Phone: 1-507-451-2480
Fax: 1-507-451-4940 |